Improvement in time-indicators for letter-boxes



"inte gisten @anni @titi-w.

JAMES T. YOUNG, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA.

Letters Patent No. 101,697, dated April 5, 1870.

DEPR'OVEMENT IN TIME-INDICATQRS FOR LETTER-BOXES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

'To allwhom 'it may concern Beit known that I, J Arms T. YOUNG, of Washington,in thecounty of 'Washingtom District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Boxes; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a. full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and general Varrangement f indicators uponia letter-box to showthe time of collecting and closing the mail, substantially as hereinafter set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains tomake and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawings, iu which-'- Figure 1 is a front view of a letter-box with my indicator attached;

Figure 2 is a plan view; and

Figure 3, an inside view ofthe same.

A represents the front side of a letter-box con-l structed in any desired manner. At a suitable point on the side A i's aiiixed a plate,

B, bearing the inscription Next mail-collection on' and immediately below this plate is a slot, a, throuch the front of the box, for showing orexhibit ing thname of the day. This is accomplished in the following manner:

A plate, O, is secured to the inner side of the front A, so as to cover a 'portion of the slot a, said plate being stationary, and provided. with the raised letters oA-Y, projecting in the slot. y

rIhe whole inside of the rontA is provided with a plate, D, secured to and a suitable distance from it, as shown in iig. 2, by bolts in its corners.

In this plate, an'd in the front A, a shaft, d, has its bearings, upon which shaft, between the front A and the plate D, is mounted a wheel, e, in such a position that it will cover the balance of the slot a.

Upon the front s ide of the wheel e are, at suitable intervals, placed the raised letters .u-o-N, frlU-E-s, dto., so as to complete, with the letters 1)A-Y on the plate C, the names of all the days in the week, and so that, by turning or revolving the said wheel e, the name of every day in the week can be seen in succession through the slot Upon the inner end of the shaft d is secured anarm, f, through the outer end of which a knob and pin, g,

is passed, the pin being surrounded by a spiral spring,

h, which forces it into holes made in the plate D, so as to hold it and the ,wheel at any point it may be set. These holes are made to correspond with each group of letters on the face of the wheel e, so that the lettercarrier or collector', when he desires to change the name of the day, need only raise the pin g out of its hole or recess, and then, by turning the arm until the pin drops intoithe next hole,the face will show the next day, and

S() (lll.

Under the slota, upon the face of the front A, is another pla-te, E, bearing the inscription At A. M.; and under the saine is another' slot, i, through which the time is to be indicated. This is accomplished by three wheels, k, m, and n, arranged upon shafts and operated in precisely the same lmanner as above described for the wheel e, with the exception that the shaft upon which the wheel m is mounted is hollow, and the shaft for the wheel apasses through the same, and the face of thewheel m is recessed for the wheel n to fit in the same, the wheels k and lnl covering each about one-third of the slot 'i from the ends thereof, while the center is covered by the outer edge of the wheel m.,

Upon the face of the wheel k, at suitable intervals, are placed numbers, from 1 to 12, to indicate the hour; and upon the edges of the wheel m Iare' the numbcrs 00, 05, 10, 15, 20, and so on to incude 55, so as to indicate the minutes.

'Upon the face of the wheel nare placed the letters M.,. A 11., and In M.

Then the carrier collects the letters from the box he will change all these wheels so as to indicate the exact time when he is supposed to come again to collect them, so that any persondepositing a letter in the box can see at what time it will be taken to the post-olicc, and, the closing of the mails being also indicated, as hereinafter to be set forth, whether the next collection will he in time for the closing of the mail.

Below the slot i, on the face'of the front e, is fastened a plate, G, of suitable dimensions, the ends of which are turned up, or rather forward.

On the face of this plate are several series of staples or loops, 'o o, between which are placed metal strips H H. These strips are confined at the ends by the turned-up edges of the plate G, and held by headed pins, p1), passed through the loops o o. These pins are locked by a metal bar, I, hinged at one end of the plate G, and al latch, J, at the other end, which latch passes through the side A, and is locked on the inside thereof by the bar K, as shown.

' Upon the bar I is the inscription- .i M. P. M. H 1

"um" H M. ILM. uur. 11M.

And on the strips H H, in their appropriate places, are the names of the mails, such as Eastern Southern, &c., with the hours each mail closes. v

By unlocking the bar I, and removing the pins p p,

K m n, plates C D, shaft a, arm f,

and spiral spring h., all arranged in connection with a letter-box, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES T.l YOUNG.

Witnesses:

T. H. ALEXANDER, EDM. F. BROWN. 

